# No Way Out: The Roulette
**No Way Out: The Roulette** (노 웨이 아웃: 더 룰렛) is a 2024 South Korean mystery thriller television series in which the release of a convicted murderer from prison triggers a public bounty on his life, setting citizens, police, and politicians against one another. The eight episodes ran on U+ Mobile TV and Disney+ from July 31 to August 21, 2024.[1](https://asianwiki.com/No_Way_Out%3A_The_Roulette)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | 8-episode South Korean crime thriller web series, about 52 minutes per episode, aired Wednesdays[2](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/77389/no-way-out-the-roulette) |
| Broadcast | U+ Mobile TV and Disney+, July 31 to August 21, 2024[1](https://asianwiki.com/No_Way_Out%3A_The_Roulette) |
| Premise | The heinous criminal Kim Guk-ho is released after 13 years; a streamer known as Masked Man proposes a murder game with a 20 billion won bounty on his life[3](https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-4dfd5cc2-09e4-4c0a-82ce-b7bc7fd7ec5d) |
| Creative team | Written by Lee Soo-jin; directed by Choi Kook-hee and Lee Hoo-bin; produced by Studio X+U with Twin Film[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/no_way_out_the_roulette) • [5](https://news.lguplus.com/16491) |
| Lead cast | Cho Jin-woong as detective Baek Joong-sik; Yoo Jae-myung as Kim Guk-ho; Kim Mu-yeol as lawyer Lee Sang-bong; Yum Jung-ah as Mayor Ahn Myeong-ja[2](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/77389/no-way-out-the-roulette) |
| Audience score | 6.7/10 on IMDb from about 545 user ratings[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32919967) |
| Rating | TV-MA on Disney+; rated 19 in South Korea[3](https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-4dfd5cc2-09e4-4c0a-82ce-b7bc7fd7ec5d) • [7](https://tv.apple.com/kr/show/no-way-out-the-roulette/umc.cmc.74r64boau51yob8x1v2ny0w7m?l=en) |
## Spoilers
### Premise
The story begins with news that Kim Guk-ho (Yoo Jae-myung), described in Korean publicity as a heinous criminal of unprecedented notoriety, has been released from prison after serving only 13 years.[5](https://news.lguplus.com/16491) After his release, a streamer known as the Masked Man proposes a public murder game with a 20 billion won bounty for Kim Guk-ho's life, and chaos follows as threats surround him and conflicts arise between those trying to protect him and those trying to exploit him.[3](https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-4dfd5cc2-09e4-4c0a-82ce-b7bc7fd7ec5d) The series frames the conflict as a battle between "the one who wants to live" and "the one who wants to kill" amid an open murder appeal.[2](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/77389/no-way-out-the-roulette)
**The bounty figure.** Most platform and database sources state the bounty as 20 billion won.[3](https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-4dfd5cc2-09e4-4c0a-82ce-b7bc7fd7ec5d) The Korea Times's coverage of the production presentation instead reports a bounty of 2 billion won ($14.4 million).[8](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/shows-dramas/20240724/disneys-no-way-out-tackles-legal-ethical-dilemmas) The two figures differ by a factor of ten, and the sources do not resolve the discrepancy.
### Characters and cast
- **Baek Joong-sik** (Cho Jin-woong), a detective on the verge of losing all his assets who must protect the killer he is paid to hunt; in the first episode he finds a bag containing one billion won while investigating a mysterious body mutilation case.[9](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/no_way_out_the_roulette/s01)
- **Kim Guk-ho** (Yoo Jae-myung), the murderer released after 13 years who learns he is the target of a public murder hit.[3](https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-4dfd5cc2-09e4-4c0a-82ce-b7bc7fd7ec5d)
- **Lee Sang-bong** ([Kim Mu-yeol](https://www.edgepedia.org/kim-mu-yeol)), a lawyer known as being in the bottom 1% of his profession, who becomes Kim's legal representative and receives a life-changing proposal from a politician.[3](https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-4dfd5cc2-09e4-4c0a-82ce-b7bc7fd7ec5d)
- **Ahn Myeong-ja** (Yum Jung-ah), the mayor of Hosan, investigated for corruption, who seeks a political comeback by using Kim Guk-ho.[9](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/no_way_out_the_roulette/s01)
- **Seo Dong-ha** (Sung Yoo-bin), a violinist set to study in Vienna who faces hatred and contempt as Kim Guk-ho's son.[3](https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-4dfd5cc2-09e4-4c0a-82ce-b7bc7fd7ec5d)
- **Mr. Smile** (Greg Hsu), a killer who comes to Korea to assassinate Kim Guk-ho but faces an unexpected situation.[3](https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-4dfd5cc2-09e4-4c0a-82ce-b7bc7fd7ec5d)
- **Yoon Chang-jae** ([Lee Kwang-soo](https://www.edgepedia.org/lee-kwang-soo)), a butcher who lost an ear in a roulette game and later kidnaps Baek Joong-sik's daughter to force Kim Guk-ho to be brought to him.[9](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/no_way_out_the_roulette/s01)
- **Pastor Seong Jun-u** ([Kim Sung-cheol](https://www.edgepedia.org/kim-sung-cheol)), a respected pastor of Midian Church who harbors a secretive past connected to his mother's death.[3](https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-4dfd5cc2-09e4-4c0a-82ce-b7bc7fd7ec5d)
## Production and casting
The series was planned by Studio X+U, LG U+'s content studio, and produced by Twin Film with co-production from Jerry Good Company, Studio X+U, and Plus M Entertainment.[5](https://news.lguplus.com/16491) Filming ran from October 16, 2023 to March 31, 2024.[10](https://navicon.jp/title104743/) A production presentation was held on July 24, 2024 at Conrad Seoul in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, a week before the premiere.[8](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/shows-dramas/20240724/disneys-no-way-out-tackles-legal-ethical-dilemmas)
**Casting change.** Actor Lee Sun-kyun was first cast to play Baek Joong-sik but dropped out before filming any scenes due to a drug scandal in October 2023; Cho Jin-woong took the role.[1](https://asianwiki.com/No_Way_Out%3A_The_Roulette) Korean media noted that Yoo Jae-myung's character Kim Guk-ho recalled the convicted criminal Cho Doo-soon, whose early release from prison was itself a flashpoint in South Korean public debate.[11](https://www.kmediarods.com/fileUpload/bulletins/news_pdf_2024-08-13.pdf)
## Themes and reception
At the July 2024 press conference, the cast said the series raises questions about how society should deal with issues that defy simple legal resolutions.[8](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/shows-dramas/20240724/disneys-no-way-out-tackles-legal-ethical-dilemmas) Common Sense Media described it as adding ironic and interesting elements to an otherwise standard action-thriller in the "murder competition" genre.[12](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/no-way-out-the-roulette)
Critical reception was mixed. Pierce Conran, reviewing for the *South China Morning Post*, gave it 3 of 5 stars, calling it a punchy, engaging thriller with strong pacing and crafty direction from Choi Kook-hee (director of *[Default](https://www.edgepedia.org/default-2018-film)*) that nonetheless fails to follow through on its story threads, producing diminishing returns over the eight episodes.[13](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-pop/k-drama/article/3275866/disney-k-drama-no-way-out-roulette-review-crime-thriller-digestible-light) On IMDb the series holds a 6.7/10 rating from about 545 votes, with individual episode ratings ranging from 6.3 (episode 2) to 7.5 (episode 6).[14](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32919967/ratings/) A 2024 industry ranking of Korean content on overseas OTT platforms placed the series 43rd among 2024 Korean dramas, carried on U+ and Disney+.[15](https://www.archivecenter.net/kaitArchive/attach/140000/140532/20251106152247712.pdf)
## References
1. [No Way Out: The Roulette, AsianWiki](https://asianwiki.com/No_Way_Out%3A_The_Roulette)
2. [No Way Out: The Roulette, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/77389/no-way-out-the-roulette)
3. [NO WAY OUT: The Roulette, Disney+](https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-4dfd5cc2-09e4-4c0a-82ce-b7bc7fd7ec5d)
4. [No Way Out: The Roulette, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/no_way_out_the_roulette)
5. [출구 없는 시리즈가 왔다! 하반기 기대작 '주목', LG유플러스 뉴스룸](https://news.lguplus.com/16491)
6. [No Way Out: The Roulette (2024), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32919967)
7. [NO WAY OUT: The Roulette, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/kr/show/no-way-out-the-roulette/umc.cmc.74r64boau51yob8x1v2ny0w7m?l=en)
8. [Disney+'s 'No Way Out' tackles legal, ethical dilemmas, The Korea Times](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/shows-dramas/20240724/disneys-no-way-out-tackles-legal-ethical-dilemmas)
9. [No Way Out: The Roulette: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/no_way_out_the_roulette/s01)
10. [〖NO WAY OUT：ザ・ルーレット〗(全8話）韓国ドラマ紹介, NaviCon](https://navicon.jp/title104743/)
11. [A01_8월, kmediarods](https://www.kmediarods.com/fileUpload/bulletins/news_pdf_2024-08-13.pdf)
12. [No Way Out: The Roulette, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/no-way-out-the-roulette)
13. [Disney+ K-drama No Way Out: The Roulette review, South China Morning Post](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-pop/k-drama/article/3275866/disney-k-drama-no-way-out-roulette-review-crime-thriller-digestible-light)
14. [No Way Out: The Roulette (TV Series 2024) - Ratings - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32919967/ratings/)
15. [2024 OTT 한국 드라마 순위, KAIT Archive](https://www.archivecenter.net/kaitArchive/attach/140000/140532/20251106152247712.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › International serial drama and telenovelas › East Asian drama series › Korean contemporary drama › Thriller, crime, and mystery series › Crime and mystery thrillers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license